Faraway
by Kyarorain
Summary: The dream is about to end and so the twins must part.


**Faraway**

My first Little Busters! fic and of course it's sad. Well, it's to be expected from a VN like this... Out of the five girls who aren't part of the original Little Busters, we only see Komari (which was probably just as well... I was enough of a trainwreck by the time her farewell scene finished) but what about the other girls, particularly Haruka and Kanata? So I wrote this fic.

* * *

It had become so quiet. The trees didn't even so much as rustle anymore now that the wind had come to a stop. There were no voices to be heard. Not a single car went by on the road beyond the school gate.

The world that had started over many times was finally about to end.

Two girls in uniform stood side by side, facing the exit. It was so difficult to find the words to say now that their time together was reaching its conclusion. Neither of them wanted it to be over, but there was nothing they could do about it.

"I wish this didn't have to end," Haruka finally spoke. Her twin tails swung round as she looked at her twin sister. "We finally got to make up and I was so happy. That day when we went to our parents together was a lot of fun, wasn't it?"

Kanata pressed her lips together in a thin line. Her gaze remained fixed straight ahead.

"It's not going to be much of a goodbye if you don't say anything. It's hard though, isn't it?" Haruka sighed. "Especially since this is the last time we'll see each other." She turned her gaze to the horizon where the sun was casting orange rays over the sky. "Sunsets usually make me feel sad. Having to say goodbye while watching one... it's even worse."

"Why?"

"Well, when I see the sunset, it's like a different day-"

"Not that." Kanata expelled a shaky breath. "I don't understand. Why did this world come to exist? How come we're having to say goodbye to each other? The last thing I remember was..." She paused, recalling that last vague memory from the real world. "I had this sudden bad feeling like something terrible had happened, then I sensed you. When I reached out to you, I ended up here." Her watery eyes fixed on her twin. "What happened, Haruka? You remember, don't you?"

"I thought it would be better if we didn't talk about it." Haruka clasped her hands behind her back. "But if you really want to know... we were on the bus. Talking, laughing, singing songs. Everyone was so excited. One minute I was talking to Anego about the tricks I'd pull on the field trip and then, bam! The bus hit something and we were falling all over the place. I think it went down a cliff. It was all happening so fast. I passed out so I don't know what else happened but I'm pretty sure we weren't going to make it."

"So, that was it." Kanata's voice wobbled and she clenched her fists. This was just too cruel. To think her precious little sister, who she'd tried so hard to protect, was actually going to die. All that tormenting and bullying she'd done in an effort to force Haruka out of the school, driving that wedge further between them, it had all been for naught. Now she wished she'd never even bothered.

Her family had told her to scorn Haruka, threatened to cull her sister if she didn't do as they said, and she'd obeyed them even though she didn't want to. She was too scared to defy them and now things had led to this.

"It's a shame it ended up like this," Haruka murmured. "I really wanted to keep having wonderful days with you, Onee-chan."

"You were supposed to be on the same bus as me. We were in the same class."

Haruka looked at her sister. Kanata's eyes had disappeared beneath her bangs and twin waterfalls had begun streaming down her cheeks.

"You never should have been on that bus. So, why? What were you doing there?" Kanata broke off, letting out a sob. "You hardly ever turned up at class at school and I knew it was because you were trying to avoid me, so... you were on the bus for the same reason, weren't you?" She whipped her head up, sending tears flying into the air. "It was my fault! I put you on that bus!"

Haruka watched with a bewildered look as Kanata dissolved into heavy sobs. She hadn't expected Kanata to start blaming herself but now that she thought about it, why wouldn't she? Kanata had been trying to drive her away from the very start and now things had ended up so tragically.

"Onee-chan..."

"All I ever wanted was to protect you! Everything I did was for your sake. I drove you away because all I wanted was for you to be safe and then this happened... I never wanted you to die!" Kanata's voice rose to a wail. "I'm sorry, Haruka... I'm so sorry..."

"Stop it." Haruka reached out and grabbed Kanata's hands. Kanata looked up, meeting her gaze. "Please, don't go blaming yourself for what happened. It will only make you even sadder and I don't want that, Onee-chan. I want you to be happy."

"But... I don't deserve to be happy at all. Because of me, my dear little sister is..." Kanata choked back a sob. "Why are you looking at me with that smile? You should be hating me. I was the bad sister who tormented you and drove you to this."

Haruka shook her head. "I know why you did everything and I can't hate you anymore. I don't blame you for what happened. You couldn't have known the crash would happen. None of us did."

"But still, you were avoiding me, weren't you? You sneaked onto that bus-"

"I just wanted to be with my friends!" Haruka cut in. "Anego and everyone are all in that other class and I hardly know anybody in our class. I wanted to spend the field trip with them and so I sneaked onto the bus. It wasn't all because of you."

"R-really?" Kanata sniffled. "What if I'd been a better sister though? What if I hadn't listened to the family and we'd got along with each other? Would things have been different?"

"I don't know. Not much point in thinking about that." Haruka did wonder though. How different things might have been had the two of them been close. It was a pity they could never know. "I don't want you to spend the rest of your life feeling guilty. You'll be really sad if you do and that's gonna make me feel bad. I'm the idiot who jumped onto another bus after all." She added a weak laugh.

They fell silent, studying each other's faces. Kanata's was red and streaked with tears though she had managed to cease her crying. She couldn't part with Haruka like that, crying and blaming herself for it. Haruka obviously didn't want it. Kanata didn't know if it would be so easy to forgive herself however. She was sure she would carry the guilt on her shoulders for years to come no matter what her sister said.

"I really wish you didn't have to go. I'll miss you so much."

"Me too. It would be nice if we could just stay here forever and ever, wouldn't it? We could just think of lots of fun things to do and enjoy ourselves. Do the things that sisters do. I'd love it." Haruka's smile faded as quickly as it came. "But I'll be going somewhere faraway now, won't I? Somewhere we'll never see each other again. It's just too sad." Her eyes prickled and warmth flooded her face. "Why... when we'd become close again... it's so cruel! Haha... I told myself I wasn't going to cry but in the end, I couldn't help it."

Kanata released her hands and threw her arms around her sister's body. They clutched onto each other tightly. The tears flowed freely while they buried their faces in each other's shoulders.

"Thank you for looking out for me. Even if you had to do such horrible things, you were only trying to protect me, and I'm glad I had a big sister like you around."

"Haruka... I never stopped caring about you, even once. You truly were a precious little sister."

"You have to stay strong for me when you've gone back, okay?"

They parted from the embrace and held each other at arms' length. Kanata inclined her head in a slight nod. "I'll do my best though I can't make any promises."

"You're tough, Onee-chan. I'm sure you'll manage." Haruka released a long sigh. "Well, this is it, isn't it? Those happy days we had together, they really were the best. I'll never forget them."

The two sisters looked toward the darkening sky. There wasn't much time left and they would have to leave very soon.

"Bye-bye, Onee-chan." Haruka turned her gaze back to meet Kanata's, smiling brightly. "I love you."

"Me too." Kanata's next words caught in her throat. She'd never realised how hard it could be to say goodbye to someone she would never see again. There had never been a parting that was this painful. "Goodbye... Haruka."

Together, the twins faded away from the world that was reaching its end.


End file.
